Sales & Marketing

Dallas – Neiman Marcus shoppers who want to get a gift card can now give a little something to receive one. Neiman Marcus Group Ltd. is partnering with luxury consignment provider The RealReal in a new program that offers consignors payment in Neiman Marcus gift cards with an extra 10% added to the value of their payout.

In a classic case of “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em,” Neiman Marcus is deepening its relationship with an organization that could be viewed as a competitor.

Covington, La. - Stirling Properties has completed its first retail development in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Academy Sports + Outdoors was relocated to a new location, adding an additional 22,000-sq.-ft. to the store. The new 72,000-sq.-ft. store was expanded to meet the demand of the growing Lake Charles community.

All of the land surrounding the larger Academy Sports + Outdoors is currently available for sale or lease.

Boston – City Sports is making things personal with its omnichannel customers. The specialty sporting goods retailer is leveraging technology from BlueConic to help the company offer a more personalized shopping experience across channels.

Washington, D.C. - The National Retail Federation (NRF) is now a little less rosy in its sales expectations for 2015. The NRF has lowered its full-year retail sales forecast because of unexpected slow growth recorded during the first half of the year, similar to the industry’s experience in 2014.

However, NRF still expects sales will steadily increase through the remainder of the year. NRF forecasted in February that retail sales would grow 4.1% in 2015 from 2014, but today’s revision lowers the forecast to 3.5%.

San Francisco – Digital marketers are mobilizing their efforts. According to a new study from marketing software provider Kenshoo, phone and tablet-based year-over-year (YoY) spending globally increased 167% for paid social ads and 37% for paid search in second quarter 2015.

New York - Elizabeth Arden Inc. has named JuE Wong as president, Elizabeth Arden brand, effective Aug. 3. Wong was previously CEO of StriVectin and Astral Brands and also held several leadership positions for brands including N.V. Perricone, M.D. Cosmeceuticals and Murad.

In addition, Elizabeth Arden has signed a joint venture agreement with Asian prestige beauty distributor Luxasia Ventures Pte Ltd for the Southeast Asia region. Elizabeth Arden expects to commence operations in the first fiscal quarter of fiscal 2016

Commerce, Calif. – Smart & Final Stores Inc. reported net income of $11 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2015, essentially flat compared to $11.1 million in the year-earlier period. Higher expenses related to higher sales volumes, increased store support costs, additional marketing expense, and public company costs inhibited profit growth.